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Eastern Michigan holding open practice at Ford Field

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The University of Michigan isn’t the only football team in Washtenaw County leaving its campus for spring practices. Coach Chris Creighton and the Eastern Michigan University football team are keeping things a little more local, as they will head to Ford Field in Detroit for an open practice Monday, March 28.

The team will begin its normal practice routine at 3:30 p.m. and conclude at approximately 5:25 p.m. The practice allows attendees to experience what a Division I college football practice consists of.

“[It’s a] great opportunity for our football program to practice at Ford Field,” said Creighton in a recording on EMUEagles.com. “It’s the home of the MAC Championship but also the Quick Lane Bowl, which the MAC has had the opportunity to be a part of.”

This will be the first chance EMU fans get to see what’s coming for the Eagles in the 2016 season. EMU returns many starters on the offensive side of the ball, and new defensive coordinator Neal Neathery is implementing a new style of play for the EMU defense.

“We’re using some different personnel groupings,” Creighton said. “Which in the short term has slowed us up a bit, but in the long term, in terms of the season is going to be beneficial.”

Last season, EMU redshirted 28 freshmen who will all be eligible to play this fall.

“We’re super excited about the incoming class and there’s going to be guys that help us for sure,” Creighton said. “But I really think the real story for the fall is the current freshman class of the guys that redshirted. Those are the guys that end up getting forgotten about because you get the new class coming in.”

EMU fans can see the Eagles take the field in Detroit on Monday, or head to EMU’s Rynearson Stadium for the annual spring game on April 9.